What we learned Friday 1 August
And with that, we are going to put the blog to bed. Before we go, let’s recap the big headlines:
Garma festival begins! It has been 25 years since the annual Garma festival’s humble beginnings, and the Yothu Yindi Foundation, which organises the event in north-east Arnhem Land, is paying homage to those who started it.
Independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich said he supports the pro-Palestine protest planned for Sydney Harbour Bridge, saying it “would send a powerful global message”.
A controversial plan to reinstate spit hoods in the Northern Territory’s youth detention centres passed parliament last night, as well as a slate of other changes to the territory’s Youth Justice Act.
Australian goods imported into the US will continue to attract the country’s baseline 10% tariff, with Australia dodging any tariff increase in the latest round of Donald Trump’s global trade war.
Father Chris Riley, the founder of Youth Off the Streets, died at his home on Thursday, the group said. He was 70.
A protest against antisemitism, also planned for Sunday, will be stationed outside the Sydney Harbour Tunnel. Christian-led group called Never Again is Now said they had lodged an application with the NSW police to hold a rally, which was designed to draw attention to hostages still unaccounted for.
Thank you for spending part of your day with us. We will be back on Monday to do it all again.
Updated
Large chunk of sandstone cliff collapses at Bronte beach
A massive rock has fallen on to the sand at Sydney’s popular Bronte beach, NSW lifeguards have confirmed.
“A portion of the cliff at the North side of Bronte has fallen on to the beach. Lifeguards and officials are strongly advising the public to stay clear of the area,” NSW lifeguards said in a post on social media.
“We will update you when we know more but for now please stay well clear.”
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That’s all from me, Cait Kelly will be picking up the blog from here.
Police asked in court how they would respond if 50,000 protesters gathered at Sydney’s Lang Park
The supreme court has heard that “the reality” police face is that tens of thousands of people could still attend the planned march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge regardless of whether the court authorises it or not.
The barrister for the Palestine Action Group, Felicity Graham, told the court this means it needs to understand what the police’s response will be.
Graham asked acting assistant police commissioner, Adam Johnson, what police’s plan was if 50,000 people descended upon Lang Park, where the march is planned to start.
He said:
50,000 people at Lang Park whether it’s authorised or unauthorised has significant public safety risks.
Later, he said in response to a similar question: “Our plan is, if it’s not an authorised assembly, to encourage people not to come there because it will be dangerous.”
Asked what police would do in the event people still attended, Johnson said:
We would do our best in the circumstances to maintain public safety to the general public and to the people attending that location as well, and it would be difficult in either case.
If the court does not authorise the protest and issues a prohibition order, the protest may go ahead. However, participants would not have immunity from being charged under the Summary Offences Act.
Graham asked Johnson if police require this prohibition order so that police can arrest people for obstructing a road if necessary.
He responded: “Well, not necessarily. Arrest is our last option. Generally, people are generally compliant when we communicate with them in the first case, for their own safety as well.”
Updated
Pro-Israel protest planned for Sunday outside Sydney Harbour Tunnel
A protest against antisemitism, also planned for Sunday, will be stationed outside the Sydney Harbour Tunnel.
A Christian-led group called Never Again is Now said they had lodged an application with the NSW police to hold a rally, which was designed to draw attention to hostages still unaccounted for after Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023.
Organiser Mark Leach said:
Instead of demonising Israel, the world needs to demand Hamas return the hostages, many of whom have been subject to torture – and real starvation, as we saw from those who have returned home.
That is the only way to end the war.
We recognise blocking both the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the Sydney Harbour Tunnel may inconvenience people and impact emergency services, but after two years of almost weekly anti-Israel protests without interruption, as the Marxists organising the Bridge protest noted all of a sudden, it’s about “the right to protest”.
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Australia’s largest superannuation fund has divested more than $26m of shares in poker machine giant Aristocrat from its “socially aware” option, after sustained criticism of its support for the gambling industry.
The decision was made after a review of investments to ensure the fund was meeting the expectations of its ethically minded members.
Read more:
Independent parliamentary review finds many electorate offices seeing increase in violent behaviour
An independent review has found parliamentarians and their staff are facing an increase in violent or threatening behaviour by constituents.
A review of parliamentary resourcing by the Parliamentary Workplace Support Service (PWSS) found 85% of parliamentarians and staff who engaged in the review have dealt with constituents who were violent, threatening or acting volatile. Almost half said they’d experienced that violent or volatile behaviour more than once a month.
The PWSS consulted 217 parliamentarians and staff across 68 offices, received 499 full survey responses, and 124 partial survey responses for the review.
Of the individuals consulted by the review, the report states almost three-quarters (72%) are seeing a “steady increase” in the number of security incidents including from “protest activity and violent and threatening behaviour from constituents”.
It also found ICT was a key issue for electorate offices, and hampered staff being able to complete their work. The report states:
Many staff were unable to run issued software such as communications and media products, or load photos or videos, because their computer would crash when attempting to complete these tasks.
The report also states staffing levels overall are “not adequate to meet all the parliamentary and electorate work demands placed on staff in some offices”.
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NSW SES urges state’s regions to prepare for weekend washout
The New South Wales State Emergency Service is encouraging residents in the Hunter, Mid North Coast, Coffs Coast and New England regions to prepare for a weekend washout.
Heavy rainfall, damaging winds and large surf are expected across much of the north coast and adjacent ranges this weekend.
With conditions to worsen from Friday night into Saturday, residents are encouraged to stay informed and act early.
NSW SES Assistant Commissioner Nicole Hogan urged people to prepare:
Check your gutters, trim branches, and secure outdoor furniture or trampolines before winds pick up. These simple steps can prevent serious damage.
Due to the forecast rainfall, some roads could become flooded and impassable, so above all, never drive through flood waters. If the road is flooded, stop, turn around and find another way.
Updated
Extra police called in for pro-Palestine protest in Melbourne
In Melbourne, extra police are being called in to quash concerns about pro-Palestine protesters causing havoc in the city.
Pro-Palestine protesters are expected to march through Melbourne’s CBD on Sunday, aiming to block the King Street Bridge.
Victoria police Supt Troy Papworth said officers had tried to engage with organisers in an effort to alter the planned action, but those attempts were unsuccessful.
Purposely blocking a major thoroughfare through the city is a risk that we just can’t take and we won’t stand for it.
We’ve tried to engage with this group and strongly encourage them to change their plans and not occupy the bridge.
If people engage in criminal behaviour, they can expect to be arrested and dealt with.
- with AAP
Updated
Police fear ‘crowd crush’ at Sydney Harbour Bridge protest as up to 50,0000 people expected, court hears
The supreme court hearing between the Palestine Action Group and the New South Wales police began a short time ago to hear arguments over whether the pro-Palestine protest that would involve marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge should be authorised.
The court heard that up to 50,000 people could attend the march on Sunday, which plans to begin in Lang Park and march across the bridge to the US consulate.
Acting assistant police commissioner, Adam Johnson, who is on the stand, told the court he was worried about public safety and the potential for “crowd crush”.
The protest organiser’s barrister, Felicity Graham, asked Johnson what police will do if 50,000 people gather at Lang Park on Sunday.
Johnson replied:
It will be a real challenge whether it’s prohibited or not prohibited.
If the protest is prohibited, organisers could still proceed with the protest. However, participants would not have immunity from being charged under the summary offences act.
Updated
Good afternoon, Petra Stock here, taking the blog for the afternoon.
Updated
That’s all for me, thanks for sticking with us so far. Petra Stock will guide you through the news from here.
Offer to delay march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge by three weeks remains
An organiser of a pro-Palestine protest that would involve marching across the Sydney Harbour Bridge has said the offer is still open to delay the rally by three weeks if the police are willing to work with them.
Earlier today, spokesperson for the Palestine Action Group, Josh Lees, spoke outside the supreme court ahead of a hearing that will decide if the protest will be “prohibited” or “authorised”.
If the protest is prohibited, organisers could still proceed with the protest. However, participants would not have immunity from being charged under the summary offences act. Lees said:
We put forward a whole proposal for 24 August, we would have our march over the Sydney Harbour Bridge that would march identical routes to the World Pride March in 2023.
Lee said that if the court sided with police, there was a “real possibility” there would still be thousands of people who turned up on Sunday determined to march across the bridge regardless.
It’s important to be clear here, if we lose the authorisation of this protest that does not deem a protest unlawful … It’s not prohibited in any genuine sense. People have the right to protest, to gather and assemble, and it’s not an unlawful act.
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‘Entirely preventable’ malnutrition crisis has caused 74 deaths in Gaza this year, WHO says
The World Health Organization has recorded 74 malnutrition-related deaths in Gaza in 2025, 63 of which occurred in July. Those deaths include 24 children under five. The WHO said in a statement:
Most of these people were declared dead on arrival at health facilities or died shortly after, their bodies showing clear signs of severe wasting. The crisis remains entirely preventable. Deliberate blocking and delay of large-scale food, health, and humanitarian aid has cost many lives.
Save the Children Australia CEO Mat Tinkler said it was “simply a fact that virtually everyone in Gaza is starving and the government of Israel is responsible”. Tinker said “only serious intervention from the international community … will prevent further descent into mass starvation”.
The government of Israel has denied there is widespread famine in Gaza, with the prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, saying: “There is no starvation in Gaza, no policy of starvation in Gaza.”
Israel’s deputy chief of mission in Australia, Amir Meron, said pictures of emaciated children in Gaza were “false” and claimed the children pictured had congenital conditions. Meron said:
We don’t recognise any famine or any starvation in the Gaza Strip. Israel has never acted in a policy of starvation. There is no such policy. There is no starvation in the Gaza Strip and there is no willingness of Israel that such a thing will happen in the Gaza Strip.
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Aid worker says conditions in Gaza ‘hell on Earth’
An Australian aid worker has described conditions in Gaza as “hell on Earth”, saying starving children have said they would rather die than continue to endure the famine being imposed on the occupied territory by the Israeli government.
Georgia Tracey, an Australian recently returned from Gaza, said children are telling aid workers they want to die, saying:
What kind of wicked world are we living in where we allow children to be so relentlessly attacked, starved and deeply traumatised that they would prefer not to live any more?
When a child tells us that they would rather die than continue to live in this hell on earth that the Israeli government has forced on them, how can we say anything but how sorry we are that humanity has failed them?
Save the Children runs child-friendly spaces inside Gaza. One of the activities inside its child-friendly spaces in Gaza is a “wishing cloud”. Previously, children have wished to attend school, for peace, or to see friends again. In recent weeks, however, Save the Children staff have reported children wished to die.
One child wrote: “I wish I was in heaven where my mother is, in heaven there is love and food and water.”
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Rhino horns made radioactive to foil traffickers in South African project
A South African university has launched an anti-poaching campaign to inject the horns of rhinos with radioactive isotopes that it says are harmless for the animals but can be detected by customs agents, the Associated Press reports.
Under the collaborative project involving the University of the Witwatersrand, nuclear energy officials and conservationists, five rhinos were injected in what the university hopes will be the start of a mass injection of the declining rhino population, which they are calling the Rhisotope Project.
Last year, about 20 rhinos at a sanctuary were injected with isotopes in trials that paved the way for Thursday’s launch. The radioactive isotopes even at low levels can be recognised by radiation detectors at airports and borders, leading to the arrest of poachers and traffickers.
Read more:
This man surfed more than 4,000 waves in 25 days
Blakey Johnston has broken a world record by surfing 4,097 waves in 253 sessions, over 25 days, at Urbnsurf Sydney, a wave pool for surfing. Each day was considered to be as physically challenging as running a marathon.
Read more here:
Minns hails Riley as a visionary who changed the lives of ‘tens of thousands’
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, said Riley’s work building Youth Off the Streets had seen the group become a “lifesaving network of crisis accommodation, counselling and other wraparound support services”.
Minns said:
Father Riley believed there is no child born bad, only circumstances to overcome, and he spent over three decades proving that with compassion and opportunity young lives can be transformed.
On behalf of the people of NSW, I extend our heartfelt condolences to his family, the Youth Off The Streets community, and the countless young people whose futures he helped build.
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Father Chris Riley, founder of Youth Off the Streets, dies at 70
Father Chris Riley, the founder of Youth Off the Streets, died at his home on Thursday, the group said. He was 70.
Riley established the charitable group in 1991 as a food van providing meals to young people experiencing homelessness in Sydney’s inner city. It has since grown to a staff of more than 220 people that provides support services and education pathways to children and young people aged 12 to 24 in NSW and Queensland.
Riley worked at the organisation for more than three decades, stepping away in 2022 due to illness. Anne Fitzgerald, the chairperson of the group’s board, said:
He was a tireless advocate for homeless and disadvantaged youth, and he inspired and changed thousands of young lives. Father Riley will be remembered for his compassion, tenacity and unwavering belief that every young person deserves the chance to reach their full potential.
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Wet, wintry weekend in store for NSW
New South Wales is heading for a sodden Saturday, with the wet and wintry weather that has been plaguing the east coast expected to ramp up over the weekend.
After a week of intermittent showers, the bulk of the rain was forecast to hit on the weekend as a low-pressure system deepened off the coast, according to the Bureau of Meteorology. Senior meteorologist Angus Hines said:
The rain, which we’ve seen over the past few days for eastern Australia, will be greatly amplified. That’s going to mean a very, very wet weekend.
Heading into Saturday, the weather system was expected to home in on NSW, with severe weather warnings issued for damaging winds and heavy rainfall for central eastern parts of the state.
Much of the NSW coastline could receive falls of between 50 to 100mm over the weekend, Hines said, with the heaviest falls expected for the coast and ranges between the Hunter and mid north coast. Some places could even see “a serious amount” – more than 150mm.
Read more here:
Queensland public transport ridership rose 16.8% after 50c fares
Queensland’s 50c fare scheme caused a major spike in public transport ridership, state parliamentary estimates has heard.
Director general Sally Stannard told a hearing on Thursday night that patronage had increased by 16.8% compared with the same time period in the prior year.
About 77 million trips had been taken since the scheme went into effect, resulting in a saving of about $159m for riders. Stannard said:
As at 30 June 2025, patronage in south-east Queensland for the 2024-25 financial year was 15% higher compared to the previous financial year. Rail was 17.4% higher; bus was 12.2% higher; Gold Coast light rail was 23.3% higher; and ferry was 31.4% higher.
The change was implemented under former Queensland premier Steven Miles.
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Queensland review of gender-affirming care may not be released to the public
The Queensland government banned gender-affirming care – such as puberty blockers – in public hospitals in January while a panel led by psychiatrist Ruth Vine conducted a review.
The health minister, Tim Nicholls, said it would be up to Vine to determine how her advice would be treated. Nicholls said:
Prof Vine and her committee and her fellow reviewers have a very wide remit, including recommendations as to how her advice is treated.
I’ve clearly and consistently said that the cabinet and the government will consider the advice by Prof Vine and I will be guided and will not preempt the decisions of cabinet in relation to how that advice is dealt with.
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Embattled Star looking for new options after Brisbane casino deal falls through
Star Entertainment Group is looking at alternative options for its half-stake in a newly opened Brisbane entertainment complex after failing to reach agreement on a sale it had been negotiating for months, AAP reports.
The embattled casino operator had since March been planning to sell its 50% interest in the Queen’s Wharf Brisbane to its Hong Kong partners, which each hold a quarter-stake in the 12-hectare riverfront development.
But Star said on Friday it had been unable to reach a final agreement on a number of commercial issues with Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium by Friday’s deadline.
It offered to extend their negotiating framework for another week, but the duo rejected that offer and walked away.
That means Star has until next Wednesday to repay Chow Tai Fook and Far East Consortium a $10m advance on the sale it received back in March, and until 5 September to repay another $31m.
Asylum seekers on Nauru contract dengue as advocates call on Australia to take responsibility
At least nine asylum seekers on Nauru have contracted dengue fever amid an outbreak on the island, including one man who was medically evacuated to Australia for treatment and then returned this week, according to a legal aid group and an asylum seeker there.
Cases of dengue, also known as break-bone fever, rose sharply in July amid a broader outbreak of the virus in the Pacific.
Heidi Abdel-Raouf, the manager of detention casework advocacy at the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre (ASRC), said the group was aware of nine men who have dengue “but there are reports of many more”.
There are approximately 93 asylum seekers and refugees on Nauru, who mostly live in the community on a stipend of $230 a fortnight from the Australian government. They have been there between two and 22 months, and will never be settled in Australia under government policies. Those with refugee status currently have no resettlement options.
Read more here:
House prices at all-time highs in almost half of Australian suburbs
More on the record house price figures, as we reported in the blog earlier: housing market values in almost half of all Australian suburbs are at all-time highs – and plenty more are expected to join them, AAP reports.
In a sure sign the housing market has recovered, property platform Cotality, formerly known as CoreLogic, released data on Friday showing record values in almost 45% of suburbs.
The property data firm has predicted the proportion of suburbs at peak value will rise to 50% in the coming months on the back of national dwelling value growth in June.
In Australia’s most expensive housing market, 37% of Sydney suburbs were at record highs, while just 13% of Melbourne’s reached new highs. Queensland’s market is booming with almost four-in-five (78%) suburbs in Brisbane at peak dwelling values and regional markets in the state about the same mark.
Three-quarters of Perth’s suburbs have hit record values, as have 61% of Adelaide’s.
Peak dental body calls on government to urgently promote children’s dental scheme as more than 1.5 million children missing out
A million-and-a-half children are missing out on the free dental scheme for kids, the peak dental association has said as it calls on the government to better promote it to parents.
Guardian Australia has previously reported that the department of health and aged care has acknowledged more than 2.4 million children were eligible for the Child Dental Benefits Schedule (CDBS) in the 2023-24 financial year, but less than 40% used it.
New data released today by the Australian Dental Association (ADA) based on a survey of 25,000 adults showed that of the families who believed they were eligible for treatment under the scheme, only 36% – just over one in three – actually use it.
The survey found the scheme is “shrouded in confusion and misinformation” with many parents unaware of its existence or unsure of their eligibility.
The ADA president, Dr Chris Sanzaro, says:
“This leaves millions of eligible Australian families either going without dental care or paying more out of pocket than they need to, when it could so well fund a child’s first dental visit. It’s a scheme that’s shrouded in mystery and confusion – and with over 1.5m Australian kids missing out, the government urgently needs to better promote it to ensure eligible families can access this care.”
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Trump accuses foreign nations of ‘freeloading’ on drug prices as Australia insists PBS prices won’t rise
Donald Trump has threatened a crackdown on major pharmaceutical companies who fail to sell cheaper drugs to the US, and criticised nations “freeloading on US innovation”.
Trump wrote to 17 pharmaceutical companies, demanding they treat the US as the “most favoured nation” and lower prices of drugs for the US Medicaid scheme, and threatened to use “every tool in our arsenal” to crack down on pharmaceutical giants if they fail to cut drug prices for Americans within 60 days.
In Australia, under the pharmaceutical benefits scheme (PBS), pharmaceutical companies negotiate directly with the department of health on pricing.
The Australian government hasn’t said whether tariffs or restrictions from the US on pharmaceuticals would impact the PBS.
Read more:
Farrell won’t predict when Albanese will meet Trump
Farrell says he won’t make predictions about when prime minister Anthony Albanese could meet the US president, Donald Trump. He said:
The prime minister has had two very good discussions with President Trump and I am sure that, at the appropriate time, there will be further discussions. Obviously, this decision by the United States government is a very positive one for our relationship.
That’s where we’ll leave that press conference with Farrell.
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Don Farrell says Aukus ‘completely independent’ of trade relationship
It is a little hard to hear the questions being put to Farrell in Adelaide but he’s also speaking about Aukus and what the US tariff decision could mean for this relationship.
He says:
We have never linked our trade relationship with our defence relationship. The US is our greatest ally, our most important ally. Just like with trade, we have an agreement with the United States to produce and make in Adelaide submarines, high-quality, highest tech submarines in the world.
We will continue to have discussions with the US about Aukus. It will be completely independent of our trade relationship. There is no job that is more important for a federal government than our national security.
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Australia 'vindicated' on US tariff decision: trade minister
Farrell says the US decision on tariffs means Australian products are now more competitive, but that the Albanese government will not “leave the issue here”. He said:
We believe in free and fair trade, and we will continue to put the argument to the US that they should remove all tariffs on Australian products in accordance with our free trade agreement, and we will continue to prosecute that argument.
I have invited [commerce secretary Howard Lutnick] to come to Australia to continue the discussions.
We believe this is a vindication of our cool and calm negotiations with our trading partners.
At no stage did we introduce tariffs on American goods. America still has a significant advantage in terms of our trading relationship … We will continue the discussions until we get those tariffs removed.
Updated
The trade minister, Don Farrell, is speaking in Adelaide.
More on Australia dodging the latest tariff hike
Trump’s latest executive order castigated unnamed countries he felt had shown insufficient fealty to the US on trade. The order read:
Other trading partners, despite having engaged in negotiations, have offered terms that, in my judgment, do not sufficiently address imbalances in our trading relationship or have failed to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national-security matters.
There are also some trading partners that have failed to engage in negotiations with the United States or to take adequate steps to align sufficiently with the United States on economic and national security matters.
The new executive order punishes small economies in particular, who have limited trading relationships with the US: Syria was given a 41% tariff rate, Myanmar and Laos 40%.
The EU has a split tariff rate: 0% on some goods, and 15% on others.
Read more here:
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Government says no country has reciprocal tariffs lower than Australia
A spokesperson for the minister for trade, Don Farrell, just responded to the news that Australian imports into the US will continue to be subject to a 10% tariff, saying:
The White House has confirmed that no country has reciprocal tariffs lower than Australia.
While we remain in the best possible position under the United States’ new tariff regime, we will continue to advocate for the removal of all tariffs in line with our free trade agreement.
Activists land in Australia after being detained by Israeli military on Freedom Flotilla vessel
Two activists have touched down in Australia after being intercepted and detained by the Israeli military while attempting to transport aid to Gaza on a Freedom Flotilla vessel.
Journalist Tania “Tan” Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin were among 21 activists on board the Handala ship when it was intercepted last Sunday and transported to Israel.
This morning, the pair landed at Sydney airport after enduring what they described as days of being “brutalised psychologically in every way”. Safi told reporters they were still “a little bit wobbly” and felt “very sore and weak”. But they said their vessel was the 37th Freedom Flotilla and it “will not be the last”.
Asked about the federal government’s holdout on recognising a Palestinian state, after Canada, France and the UK indicated they will do so at the UN general assembly in September, Robert told reporters:
What’s he waiting for? What actually is he waiting for? The death of every single Palestinian? … They are getting massacred, there is a genocide, they are ethnic cleansing … it must be done today.
The press conference at the airport concluded with the calls of “Free Palestine” as Safi and Robert were embraced by family, friends and supporters.
The Israeli embassy in Canberra was approached for comment.
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Photos from last year’s Garma festival
Guardian Australia was at last year’s Garma festival. Here are some photos from that event as we prepare for this year’s.
See more here:
House prices climb higher once again
Lower interest rates have pushed house prices to a record high before another expected cut, AAP reports.
Home prices grew nationally at 0.6% in July, marking six consecutive months of increases that have driven median dwelling prices to $927,000 in the capital cities and $689,000 in the regions, property data firm Cotality has found.
This increase aligns with the Reserve Bank’s first rate cut in February and with more on the horizon, prices are only expected to accelerate. Cotality’s head of research, Eliza Owen, said:
Demand is on the rise once again and it’s clear that’s largely induced by recent rate cuts and expectations of further rate cuts this year. It’s coming at a time when supply is relatively constrained – both from a construction perspective, but also from a listings perspective – with far more people looking to buy themselves.
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NSW politician says Sunday protest ‘absolutely inevitable’ after mishandling
NSW Labor MLC Stephen Lawrence decried what he called a “slow but steady demonisation of protest” in the state in a post explaining his support for Sunday’s march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Lawrence wrote on social media:
The circumstances of this protest are not ideal, but the event is now absolutely inevitable, largely because of the way it has been mishandled. Police have a lot of respect in the community, but when it is perceived their operational powers are the subject of direction from a political actor their capacity to negotiate with protestors and resolve situations is undermined.
Leadership is sometimes about accepting the limits of your authority.
The presence of a large number of MP’s may make more likely authorities facilitating this event occuring safely on Sunday or agreeing to postpone it. I decline to leave activists, protestors, unionists and all the other good people to do this on their own.
Australian imports into US will be subject to 10% tariffs
Australian goods imported into the US will continue to attract the country’s baseline 10% tariff, with Australia dodging any tariff increase in the latest round of Donald Trump’s global trade war.
On Thursday night US time – Friday morning in Australia – Trump issued an executive order confirming new tariff deals for several trading partners, as well as revised tariffs for a number of other countries.
Australia is not mentioned in the Executive Order, which states that any countries not on the new list would remain at a 10% tariff rate. It reads:
Goods of any foreign trading partner that is not listed in Annex I to this order will be subject to an additional ad valorem rate of duty of 10 percent pursuant to the terms of Executive Order 14257.
The new tariff regime will take effect in seven days.
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What are your rights to protest in NSW – and how have they changed?
It’s worth having a look at this great explainer from our own Jordyn Beazley after changes came in earlier this year.
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Northern Territory changes to Youth Justice Act, including the return of spit hoods, pass parliament
A controversial plan to reinstate spit hoods in the Northern Territory’s youth detention centres passed parliament last night, as well as a slate of other changes to the territory’s Youth Justice Act.
As reported yesterday, spit hoods are set to return first the first time, reversing a ban imposed eight years ago.
The changes also include the removal of the principle of detention as a last resort. The courts would also be able to consider a young person’s full criminal history when sentencing them for adult offences.
Selena Uibo, leader of the opposition in the NT, sharply criticised the changes, saying they would do “nothing to prevent youth crime”:
This latest move is nothing more than chaos described as policy, a kneejerk reaction to mounting public pressure, not a real plan to break the cycle of youth offending.
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Lawyers question NSW’s protest laws in open letter
In an open letter, lawyers have again questioned NSW’s protest laws and argued they run contrary to Australia’s civil rights obligations under an international treaty, AAP reports. Australian Lawyers for Human Rights vice president Kerry Weste said:
As a party to the core United Nations human rights treaties, Australia has recognised that freedom of assembly is a fundamental human right and, in consequence, NSW must protect it.
The right of peaceful assembly extends to all gatherings for peaceful purposes, wherever they take place. and regardless of whether they occur in the form of demonstrations, protests, meetings, processions, rallies, sit-ins, candle-lit vigils or even flash mobs.
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The Uluru Dialogue asks: “how can we see any progress on Closing the Gap by doing more of the same?”
The statement adds:
The reality is, we’ve had 18 years to make progress on Closing the Gap, but the same people and institutions are still in charge of deciding what we do and what changes are made. …
The core of the voice campaign is that it would compel the government and the bureaucrats to consult. The entire purpose of Closing the Gap is aimed at supporting the most disadvantaged, tracking targets to improve the lives of First Nations People.
But where are they in this discussion? Have they had a seat at the table?
The answer is no.
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The Uluru Dialogue says Closing the Gap is ‘going backwards’
The Uluru Dialogue just released a statement on the first day of the annual Garma festival. The group behind the Uluru Statement from the Heart said:
Enough is enough. There are no surprises, we are at the same place we were in March. The status quo. No real progress. …
Closing the Gap isn’t just stagnant… It’s going backwards because the data lags.
The group said while Garma is imminent, “we are tired of being told, yet again, that there is no progress on Closing the Gap, there is more to do, there is more data to get, there are more bureaucrats to convince …”
And for good measure, the Newsroom edition of our Full Story podcast focuses on the Palestinian issue.
Reged Ahmad talks to deputy editor Patrick Keneally and head of newsroom Mike Ticher about Anthony Albanese’s decision to so far resist pressure pushing Australia towards Palestinian recognition.
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NSW politicians share statement backing March for Humanity across Sydney Harbour Bridge
We’ve already mentioned Alex Greenwich’s support for Sunday’s March for Humanity across the Sydney Harbour Bridge – he’s among six NSW MPs in a 15-strong group of state politicians voicing their support for the protest and calling on the state government to allow it to proceed.
The other NSW MPs are Jacqui Scruby, Lynda Voltz, Kobi Shetty, Jenny Leong and Tamara Smith.
Leong and Voltz plan to join in person, while the other four said they are in full support, but unable to attend the event.
The MLCs who signed the statement, shared overnight, are Sue Higginson, John Ruddick, Cameron Murphy, Cate Faehrmann, Sarah Kaine, Abigail Boyd, Amanda Cohn, Anthony D’Adam and Stephen Lawrence. The statement reads:
We the undersigned members of the NSW Parliament support, and will attend, Sunday’s March for Humanity and Palestine across the harbour bridge.
We do so to signal in strong terms our disapproval of the ongoing starvation of Palestinian people and the destruction of Gaza and our commitment to the right to protest against it.
We call upon the NSW government to work with the organisers to facilitate a safe and orderly event, on Sunday 3 August, or on some other agreed date.
Thousands of people were expected to join the procession on Sunday to protest Israel’s war on the blockaded enclave, before police confirmed they would not permit it.
NSW police has taken court action to categorise it as unlawful and unauthorised, with the matter listed for 12.30pm today in the supreme court.
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Burke says meeting with US FBI director ‘really good’
Burke spoke about the quiet meeting he held with US FBI director Kash Patel on Thursday. He told RN Breakfast the meeting was “really good”, describing it as “a great discussion of the different ways in which we keep people safe”. Burke went on:
There’s a whole range of issues we cooperate on, from things that people would think about in terms of counter-terrorism, but right through to some issues of foreign interference, but other issues of child protection. The cooperation is very real, very strong.
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Tony Burke says Australia needs to be ‘clear-eyed’ about intelligence threats
Tony Burke, the minister for home affairs, said the government has invested more than $70m in the past four years to help combat espionage activities, but said Asio’s remarks were meant to recognise that bad actors were targeting Australia. He told RN Breakfast:
We need to be clear-eyed that there are people wanting to steal secrets, some of them government, some of them commercial. And when you’re clear-eyed about what’s happening, you can then sensibly take the measures to make it as hard as possible for them to do that.
Burke added the number of people mentioning their security clearances on social media had dropped since concerns were raised several years ago, noting:
For people who want to engage in espionage and foreign interference, their methods should not begin with a simple Google search to see who are the people who they would need.
Burgess says while money is lost, ‘tens of billions’ has been saved foiling foreign spies
Burgess said Asio was publicising the dollar value on the cost of espionage activities against Australia to help raise awareness about safety and security. He told RN Breakfast:
Whilst ($)12.5 is an imposing figure, actually, tens of billions of dollars have been saved. Saved by the good work that’s already being done. We’re just saying we need to do a little bit better because $12.5bn is still too high.
The Asio director general also said it was “reckless” that many Australians admitted on professional networking sites that they have access to sensitive or potentially classified information:
It is not naive, it’s recklessly inviting the intelligence, the intention of a foreign intelligence service. It’s OK to put what you’re doing on your CV if you’re applying for a job, you’ve got a right to do that. When you advertise it on a professional networking site or your social media profile, that’s just unwise and you are becoming a target.
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Asio director says espionage activities against Australia cost $12.5bn each year
The Asio director general, Mike Burgess, is speaking after revealing in a major speech that foreign spies have a “very unhealthy interest” in the Aukus submarine deal. Burgess said intelligence operatives have disrupted 24 major espionage and foreign interference operations overall in the past three years, but placed the cost of such activities against Australia at $12.5bn each year.
He told RN Breakfast:
The problem with espionage, it’s highly secretive and hard to see or hard to measure, but actually engaging the Institute of Criminology in an attempt to cost it, to make the cost tangible, will help businesses and individuals understand this is a real threat. And more importantly, we spent some time saying what good security looks like and how they can help catch spies and stop this.
… All nations spy, including Australia, so we can’t forget that. So all governments look for covert or sensitive insights that are not publicly available. So all nations do it, and genuinely you would be surprised by who’s doing it.
Read more here:
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Tim Ayers says government ‘at the table’ to see Glencore’s Mount Isa smelter stay open
Tim Ayres, the minister for industry, innovation and science, said this morning “everybody” has a responsibility to “commit, engage and make sure we’re investing in the future” as Glencore considers closing a smelting plant in Mount Isa, Queensland that supports thousands of jobs.
Prime minister Anthony Albanese spoke about the potential closure yesterday, saying Australia had been “good to Glencore,” adding “It’s about time Glencore is good back to Australia”. Ayres told RN Breakfast:
The message is that the same message for Glencore as it is for a range of these other smelters around Australia that are in challenging circumstances at the moment. That is, everybody’s got a responsibility to commit, engage, and make sure we’re investing in the future of this.
So we are engaged as the federal government, but it’s also about what state governments deliver, what the industry itself delivers, what the supply chain delivers, and the future of these capabilities and the owners themselves have an important role to play.
Ayers would not rule out assisting Glencore to keep the smelter open, saying there will be “focused and deliberate” discussions in the coming weeks.
We are absolutely at the table, absolutely engaged to understand what is the best future. Sustainable, competitive business here that can drive jobs and investment in North Queensland.
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Good morning, Nick Visser here to take you through the morning’s news. Let’s get to it.
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NSW MP Alex Greenwich supports pro-Palestine Harbour Bridge march
The independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich supports the pro-Palestine protest planned for Sydney Harbour Bridge, saying it “would send a powerful global message”.
The march could still go ahead if the court sides with police, but protesters face being arrested under anti-protest laws.
Greenwich, the state MP for Sydney, said there could be a march across the bridge this weekend, saying “I know it can be done”. In a statement this morning he said:
Having successfully lobbied the previous Coalition government to allow a march across the Sydney Harbour Bridge in support of LGBTQ equality during Sydney WorldPride, I know it can be done.
I share the widespread community horror over what is happening in Gaza and support the use of the Sydney Harbour Bridge to march against the atrocities. This would send a powerful global message of our solidarity to stop the starvation of people in Gaza.
Greenwich said he had been in regular contact with police about the weekly pro-Palestine protests – which usually marches through the Sydney CBD and falls within Greenwich’s electorate – and said it has “consistently proven to be peaceful events with police and organisers working well together to ensure public safety”:
I hope organisers continue to work with police to ensure that these protests can continue safely and that agreement can be reached to allow a protest across the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
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PM reiterates that Israel’s actions in Gaza are ‘not defensible’
Back to Albanese for a moment. He was also asked on ABC’s 7.30 last night if he considers it too late for “people in Gaza, especially children in terms of malnutrition and starvation in Gaza”. He said:
These are terrible circumstances. And they are completely unjustifiable and indefensible. I made that clear in discussions I directly had with President Herzog of Israel and I make public comments as well.
I think Australians all would want to see that never happen and we are deeply concerned. It is hard for us to get aid in and certainly the dropping of aid by air has not been enough. You need to open up fully access for aid into Gaza so as to save lives.
Asked if his conclusion was that Israel was using starvation as a weapon of war, he said:
Well, what I would say is that Israel’s actions are not defensible. When we passed a resolution in the parliament, we said very clearly Israel has a right to defend itself, but how it defends itself matters and it needs to comply with international law.
And when we see the substantial loss of innocent life, the deprivation that is occurring in Gaza, the fact is that Hamas, of course, with their actions on October 7, of course are responsible for engaging in terrorist activity, and the state of Israel of course responded by defending itself. But the figures that we’ve seen with the loss of innocent life and deprivation in Gaza are a human tragedy.
Asked if he was saying Israel is guilty of a war crime, Albanese said: “No, there’s processes to go through [to make] those sort of declarations.”
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Garma festival begins
What began as a backyard barbecue and a “jam session” now attracts thousands of people to one of Australia’s most remote regions each year.
It has been 25 years since the annual Garma festival’s humble beginnings and the Yothu Yindi Foundation, which organises the event in north-east Arnhem Land, is paying homage to those who started it.
The location is the culturally significant ceremonial grounds of Gulkula, where each year art, song, bunggul (dance) and storytelling are showcased.
Garma has become an important policy forum, with Anthony Albanese, the Indigenous affairs minister, Malarndirri McCarthy, and other politicians slated to speak at the four-day festival.
These talks co-exist with discussions of culture, education and other significant issues for First Nations people.
The 2025 Garma theme is “rom ga waŋa wataŋu”, or “the law of the land, standing firm”, reflected the Yolngu fight for empowerment and land rights.
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The two Australians who were on board a boat intercepted by Israel while trying to transport aid to Gaza last weekend were expected to arrive back in Sydney this morning.
We’ll bring you more details on that later, but you can read more about what happened to journalist Tania Safi and human rights activist Robert Martin here:
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'Want to make sure it’s not just a gesture': PM holds firm on Palestinian recognition position
The prime minister said last night that Australia will only recognise a Palestinian state once it “can make a contribution to the creation of two states”.
Appearing on ABC’s 7.30 last night, Anthony Albanese was asked what had to change in order for Australia to recognise Palestinian statehood after Canada joined the UK and France’s announced they intended to do so at the UN General Assembly in September.
We will give consideration to all of the factors which are there. But I believe very strongly that the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people need to be realised, but in order for that to be achieved, there needs to also be security for the state of Israel.
Asked what’s stopping Australia from making a similar commitment to Canada, Albanese said: “We want to make sure it’s not just a gesture but it’s a positive contribution.”
Albanese was pressed on what exactly needs to change for his stance to change. He responded:
Well, it won’t be a personal decision, it will be a decision by the Australian government based upon the assessment that my fellow cabinet members will make … making that declaration will actually make a difference and be a positive step towards the realisation of the two-state goal.
Asked if Australia will recognise Palestine if the US doesn’t, he said: “We’ll make our own decisions.”
Welcome
Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I’m Martin Farrer with the top stories this morning and then it’ll be Nick Visser to take you through to the weekend.
The question of whether Australia should join the UK, France and Canada in recognising a Palestinian state continues to dominate the federal politics picture this week after Anthony Albanese appeared on ABC’s 7.30 and defended his government’s stance to remain on the fence on the issue. Full details of what the prime minister said coming up.
The independent NSW MP Alex Greenwich has come out in support of the pro-Palestine protest planned for Sydney Harbour Bridge on Sunday, saying it “would send a powerful global message”. His support comes as the Palestine Action Group goes to the supreme court today to challenge a decision by police chiefs that the bridge should not be shut down to allow the march to go ahead. We’ll have more shortly.
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